Apache Will Be Armed With Deadly Hellfire Missiles

New Delhi: The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an American four-blade, twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30 mm (1.18 in) M230 chain gun.

Indian Army To Get Six Apache Attack Helicopters Armed With Hellfire Missiles For Western Front. The Army will finally get its own heavy-duty attack helicopters after a bitter tussle with the IAF over the last several years. The defence ministry on Thursday cleared the acquisition of six Apache attack helicopters, armed with Hellfire and Stinger missiles, for the Army at a cost of Rs 4,168 crore. The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile (ASM) first developed for anti-armor use.

The 1.3-million strong Army had earlier sought the government’s approval for the acquisition of 11 Apache helicopters from the US as “a follow-on contract” to the Rs 13,952 crore deal inked for 22 such choppers for the IAF in September 2015.

But after stiff opposition from the IAF, the Arun Jaitley-led Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) on Thursday cleared the Army’s whittled down a proposal for the six AH-64E Apache helicopters, which are manufactured by Boeing

The apaches will be deployed on the Western Front in support of tank formations in a role similar to that of Indian Air Force helicopters. The first Apaches are expected to enter service with the army in 2021.

The Army for long has been pushing for three squadrons of attack helicopters, among other choppers, for its three primary “strike” corps geared for rapid armoured thrusts into enemy territory.